SAI Uganda Adds Value, Benefits to Lives of Citizens with Cooperation Support

Uganda’s Supreme Audit Institution (SAI) is adding value and benefits to the lives of citizens and making an impact–nationally and internationally–in the Extractive Industries (EI) field.

SAI Uganda’s efforts to enhance government accountability, empower local communities, employ more in-house resources, and shift from a support recipient to a support provider has led to numerous achievements.

Enhancing Government Accountability. The Ugandan government is now using SAI Uganda reports as a reference point, and the SAI’s relationship with Parliament has improved. Holding the government and EI stakeholders accountable has led to an increased level of trust from citizens, non-governmental organizations and civil society organizations.

Empowering Local Communities. Increased revenues from annual lease rentals/royalties are being directed to local communities running artisanal mining, which means better employment opportunities and higher incomes.

Employing More In-House Resources. SAI Uganda has made a remarkable journey in all audit streams over the last 10 years by building internal competency and expanding audit skills. They have conducted several Value for Money (VFM) audits that have received considerable attention in major media publications.

From Support Recipient to Support Provider. Leading the International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI) Working Group on Extractive Industries (WGEI), SAI Uganda has helped increase interaction and facilitate support among WGEI and relevant stakeholders. SAI staff, in collaboration with the Organization of English-speaking African Supreme Audit Institutions (AFROSAI-E) region, have also conducted training on fiscal regimes for 12 countries, and the SAI has provided peer support to SAI Kenya for EI audits.

This would not have been possible without strong SAI leadership, harmonized donor support and cooperation.

Strong SAI Leadership. To analyze its strengths and weaknesses, SAI Uganda used the SAI Performance Measurement Framework (SAI PMF). Conducting the exercise, achieved with support from the INTOSAI-Donor Cooperation, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), and SAI Norway, provided detailed data on capacity manage resources and perform audits compared to International Standards of Supreme Audit Institutions (ISSAIs) and best international practices. These results, along with results from the AFROSAI-E Institutional Capacity Building Framework and input from various stakeholders, offered insight into areas of improvement (covered in the SAI’s corporate strategy 2016-2021).

Harmonized Donor Support. SAI Norway has provided steady, long-term support to strengthen SAI Uganda’s capacity in EI auditing. SAI Norway support has enhanced the relationship between SAI Uganda and Parliament and has contributed to increased awareness on SAI Uganda’s reports. SAI Sweden has helped SAI Uganda strengthen its VFM and quality assurance functions and has cooperated in communications training. SAI Sweden´s cooperation has similarly contributed to strengthen capacity within financial/regularity audit, management development and records and archives.

Cooperation. SAI Norway is currently working on a new strategy for the energy sector that includes an overview of future sector challenges. The strategy was developed in partnership with GIZ, SAI Norway and the WGEI. GIZ has supported SAI Uganda in several areas, including WGEI formation, stakeholder engagement strategy development and implementation, and corporate strategy planning.

In 2012, SAI Uganda established a Coordination Unit to manage external support. This single focal point for donors has resulted in (1) increased and more efficient communication; (2) facilitating SAI Uganda’s active role in helping to prevent support overlap and duplication; (3) harmonizing and prioritizing SAI needs for external support, (4) providing assurance to development partners that resources are being used appropriately; and (5) ensuring that SAI independence is not compromised.

Read the full INTOSAI-Donor Cooperation success story on SAI Uganda, its challenges, achievements and road ahead here.

The INTOSAI-Donor Cooperation (Cooperation) is a strategic partnership between donors and the SAI community. To learn more about the Cooperation’s purpose, guiding principles and members, visit www.intosaidonor.org.

More posts

The International Organization of Supreme Audit Institution's (INTOSAI) Capacity Building Committee (CBC) workstream dedicated to supporting Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs) operating in particularly challenging contexts recently organized a forum in Johannesburg, South Africa. Seven Auditors General (AG) who currently lead SAIs with experience working in such contexts...

Capacity building is critical for all dynamic organizations, both public and private. Training, an essential tool to systematically build capacity, also helps achieve desired organizational objectives. Public sector training programs are generally funded through national budgetary allocations and tend to be subject to audit by Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs), the nature of which is determined by the SAI mandate that, typically, covers...

The adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by the United Nations (UN) in 2015 marks an impressive milestone in the modernized world's history. Nearly all UN-member countries have accepted (and most have ratified) the SDGs into national policy frameworks. The SDG initiative attempts to...

In This Issue

The International Journal of Government Auditing (the Journal) is the official publication of the International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI). We support the global audit community through cooperation, collaboration and knowledge sharing and invite you to become a part of our reading and sharing experience.